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Wednesday, June 15, 2011 by: Derrick Jeror

Hands-on Product Review: Blue enCORE 300 Mic

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Blue enCORE 300 - Buy Now!

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Friday, March 04, 2011 by: Derrick Jeror

Hands-on Product Review: EV Live X ELX112P Speaker and ELX118P Subwoofer

Every since the launch of the QSC K-series line of speakers I have been a huge fan of them. They redefined the portable powered speaker category raising the bar for sound quality, output power and weight. There have been a string of me-too products to launch since the QSC's such as the JBL PRX series and the Yamaha DSR speakers. They are all good speakers but nothing has made the same waves that the QSC speakers made with their launch.

That all changed with the launch of the new EV Live X series of powered speakers. Not only are they better sounding, but they are also lighter and they cost hundreds less than their QSC counterparts. The EV 12" powered ELX112P sells for $599 compared to the QSC 12" powered K12 which sells for $799. With the subwoofers there is even a bigger difference. The ELX118P 18" sub sells for $799 where as QSC's 18" sub the KW181 sells for $1399, almost double the price. The EV Live X speakers are light, loud and sound incredible. The high frequency 1.5" compression drivers on the main cabinets sound substantially better than the QSC HF drivers with much more clarity and seperation of instruments and vocals within the mix. The low frequency drivers are also impressive putting out more bass in flat EQ mode than the QSC Series puts out with it's DEEP bass boost mode activated.

I did a head to head A/B comparison of the EV Live X series to the QSC K series and came away so impressed that I put my church's speakers and sub on Craigslist that day and ordered the EV Live X speakers.

Check out the video below for the full review. You can order the EV Live X powered speakers right here on our site, or you can give us a call to order at 607-542-9156. Free shipping on everything including the subwoofer.

EV ELX112P 12" Powered Loudspeaker
EV ELX115P 15" Powered Loudspeaker
EV ELX118P 18" Powered Subwoofer

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Comments

Matt Rush commented on 05-May-2011 12:13 PM

Thanks so much for your unbiased assessment and comparison of the EV Live X series of powered speakers to the QSC K Series. I have been trying to determine the differences between them and came to the same conclusions you did when listening to them side
by side. For me it wasn't even close. I even thought the JBL PRX series sounded better than the K series as well. Your analysis helps me feel better about a decision I had already made, and is the best comparison I have found on the net. Well done.

Collin K commented on 01-Dec-2011 10:51 AM

Great and accurate review. I used to rent smaller JBL line arrays and the Dynacord Cobra floor-standing Line array for my 2000+ seat venue. The rental house suggested I try out the EV ELX series, and after I did I was seriously impressed with the output
and sound quality. Since I was renting, I knew nothing about how much they cost retail and assumed that they were at least double what they are selling for. When I found out how much VALUE EV packed into these outstanding cabinets, I immediately bought a full
set of them. Almost a no-compromise solution for the price these things run!

Anonymous commented on 30-Jan-2012 07:27 AM

I do agree that these speakers sound great. There is no question about that. I own 2 QSC K12s and 2 QSC KW181s for front of house. I run our band through a StudioLive mixer. After several requests to run sound for other performers, and since my band uses
in-ear monitors, i needed to get some speakers I could use for monitors. Due to the price point and sound quality, I decided to pick up 4 ELX112P speakers. Here is my opinion. Yes, they sound fantastic. However (there always is a however lol), these are not
very road worthy. The cabinets have sharp corners which if banged ever so slightly, will ding the cabinets. No feet for when using it as a floor wedge. Front grill can be dented quite easily. After only two gigs, I lost the high end on one of the speakers.
Mind you, these things are not pushed very hard. I am getting it repaired as we speak. My Bottom line - For the price, they are a great deal. They sound great! -- BUT, If you plan on using these for live, portable use, you better get covers ... they will not
take road use for very long. I would recommend these all day long for permanent installations. For me, I still have to give the edge to QSC as a whole. The old adage of "You get what you pay for" only slightly holds true in this case. You do get more than
your money's worth with the ELX112Ps as far as sound quality .... but you do get what you pay for as far as build quality.

Derrick Jeror commented on 30-Jan-2012 10:57 AM

Hey Peter. I've been using these EV speakers for almost a year now. I really appreciate your input. I've recently started having the same feelings. For the money the EV's are a better deal on sound quality alone. But the QSCs do seem to have the advantage
when it comes to durability. Plus I love their 6 year warranty. Thanks again for your comment. I think we're on the same page.

Vendor X commented on 15-Mar-2012 03:48 AM

We did not use our actual company name as we sell both EV and QSC. During my visit to the trade show, I listened the the new EV Live X series and they were awesome. YET I am stunned that anyone would ever say the EV live x is better than the QSC K series.
There are so many pros and cons for both that it is actually up for a more fair fight than some of the things I have read. 1. If you need to save money, the EV is the number 1 pick, hands down!! Much bigger bang for the buck. YET do not forget that EV has
higher end models than live x and it is clear that they cut corners in construction to keep the price down so the QSC clearly wins in the area of being a better constructed cabinet as well as having a warranty unmatched by EV. You can tell that the QSC k12's
have better sound than the Live X 12's. YET this all comes back to cost points. If I wanted to save money, I would pick EV live X all day long over the QSC. But if I must be 100% honest and truly unbiased, the QSC Kseries is clearly the winner for better sound.
Or better yet, let's do this. If I were a singer and wanted my vocals to sound better, QSC, if I were a dj and wanted a bigger sound overall, the EV live X would be my pick. We are currently opening a coffee shop within our proaudio business and just this
week I have debated over which speaker to use for karaoke, live singers and compact was a factor.. So I am still leaning toward the QSC K series over the Live X. Here is the kicker, once I venture past thinking about the K series and start thinking about the
EV ZX series. Then now we are talking about apple to apple comparison. And the final pick actually would be the ZX series ALL DAY LONG!! No matter what, you can't go wrong whether you pick EV or QSC. And even though I think JBL, Mackie, etc. puts out a good
product, the two products we rave most about in life are the two brands dear to our heart.

Monday, July 19, 2010 by: Derrick Jeror

Hands On Review: Blue Microphones enCORE 100 vs Shure SM58 Comparison

We love reviewing and comparing products here at Housetop Media. It's one of our favorite things to do. We don't like marketing hype and we don't like assuming a particular product is best just because it's the most popular. One of our favorite ways to review a product is to do a comparison review with whatever other product is our current favorite. By giving ourselves a reference point we can really do a detailed analysis helping us decide if the new product has what it takes to become the new standard.

The Blue Microphones enCORE 100 is part of a new line of live performance microphones by Blue Microphones. Blue Microphones is known for making great sounding studio microphones at a great price. They decided they wanted to expand into the live microphone market and created the enCORE line of mics. When I heard about the enCORE 100 I was interested but skeptical. Their are already a bunch of good sounding handheld microphones, especially at the popular $99 price point. The other competition includes:

Audix OM2
Sennheiser e835
AKG D5
Shure SM58

Each of these mics have their own strengths and weaknesses, but no one can argue that the Shure SM58 is considered to be the standard for mics in this category by most. That's why we chose to do a head to head comparison between the long reigning champ the Shure SM58 and the new Blue Microphones enCORE 100.

Check back soon for the review of the Blue enCORE 200. Don't want to spoil the review, but I'll let you know that after trying them I replaced my church's microphones with the enCORE 200.

For more info check out the enCORE 100 and 200 product pages:

Blue Microphones enCORE 100
Blue Microphones enCORE 200